Ms. Linforth has written a love story sure to please Phantom fans old and new alike. A remarkable tale from beginning to end!

~ Amanda Ashley, NYT Best-selling author

Madrigal, by Jennifer Linforth, captures the mystery and sensual essence of Gaston Leroux's classic, The Phantom of the Opera. We live again in the world of Erik, the masked phantom, and marvel at his complex character-disfigured but irresistible, evil yet loving. We walk in Christine's footsteps through the streets of glorious Paris. What a treat to revisit these characters and take up the tale where Leroux left off!

~Kathryn M. Johnson, author of over 40 novels

Reading Madrigal by Jennifer Linforth has been a wonderful experience. As a Phantom of the Opera lover, I've been able to read all the books based on this story and Ms. Linforth's work including plot, characters, and style makes this novel a gorgeous and unique creation.

Her main story is really original and thrilling from the very beginning to the last page. The action never looses its passion and suspense, guiding the reader through an intense journey which involves the entire book. We can submerge in the Phantom's life, feeling we are part of the story itself. She never forgets Erik belongs to Leroux and his personality and even his dialogues are impregnated with his original essence-a real treasure for Phantom readers.

The vision of Christine and her husband, Raoul, is full of surprises. We can never know if Christine regrets her choice for having chosen Raoul and even in the last chapters we feel her contradiction and see doubt in her eyes. This makes a perfect ending: we are yearning for it to continue.

Ms. Linforth's love for the Phantom legend can be felt in every page, in every word which makes her novel a wonderful experience and a delight to the senses.

~Sandra Andrés Belenguer-historian and creator of the foremost Phantom of the Opera history and fan site on the net (www. ladyghost.com)

Madrigal: A Novel of Gaston Leroux's Phantom of the Opera takes place four years after the events of the original novel. Although I have not read Leroux's novel, I can see how Madrigal captures the feel of the story very well. The classic novel aside, this book is a wonderful historical tale of life, love, and choices. However, the most impressive aspect that stands out to me is the writing. Ms. Linforth's prose is phenomenally beautiful and hauntingly breathtaking.

~Coffee Time Romance

Many "sequels" to well-known classics fall short, lacking the spark of talent that blazed in the original. Jennifer Linforth's Madrigal is the exception to the rule, being the perfect continuation to the story that everyone knows and loves. Erik, known both as the Angel of Music and the Phantom of the Opera, has been hiding from the world and himself beneath the Paris Opera House, ever since Christine had chosen Raoul over him, and the terrible events of that night.

Anna, is assistant to the new managers of the Opera House, having been sold to the men as payment by her scoundrel father. Anna, though soiled by life remains unbroken, and reaches out to the man behind the mask. Erik is intent on scaring away this intrusive female, but quickly finds her becoming a necessary part of his life. For the anniversary of the Opera House, the shady managers decide to play up the "Opera Ghost" to increase tickets sales, and as part of their secret plot, lure Christine back for a grand performance.

With everyone believing the Phantom is dead, intrigue is quickly to follow. Erik must decide if his overwhelming obsessive love for Christine is the sum of his being or has little Anna soothed this wild beast.

Jennifer Linforth has created a truly outstanding book with "Madrigal." This rich and evocative work was a sumptuous feast for any fan of The Phantom of the Opera. Watching Erik and Anna slowly come together was like savoring a fabulous piece of dark chocolate. I found myself reading this book just pages at a time, reluctant to end this feast too soon. For anyone who never understood Christine choosing the weak and bland Raoul over the complicated but truly intriguing Erik, this work will delight and reward. Anna is an amazing character, only someone as flawed as her, could see not the monster beneath the Opera House nor the musician behind the music but instead the man behind the mask. When the final page ended, I wiped away tears, happy because the story ended the way I felt it always should have, but also tears of sadness because the story was over, never to be experienced for the first time again.

~ Night Owl Romance

An opening letter of explanation and then a heartfelt prologue weigh the opening of Madrigal as surely as does anchoring the work, so securely, to Leroux's Phantom of the Opera. Jennifer Linforth sets a demanding course, to follow in the wake of such a tale and such an author. And for this daring, in her Madrigal Linforth deserves most heartfelt congratulations.

She does, indeed, chart an unpredictable course. Erik, imagined dead, returns, lurking as before, in his dark sanctuary, torn between love and hate. Again the voice of an angel and the soul of a madman rage. It's sounds wonderful- dramatic - but Erik is a tortured soul. He is both afraid and fearful…compassionate and dangerous. The contrasts weave about his character from beginning to end.

All the other characters must be secondary to Erik's tortured soul… but they are, nonetheless, well-rounded, and well-presented. Anna; does she still dream of him? Or, is devotion a duty…and Christine - can she be a new love? Does Erik truly even desire love? As a reader, you will find yourself hoping for more for Erik than he appears to want (or hope for) himself. You will feel frustration at the motivations and manipulation by some - Raoul in particular. There are harsh times and vicious actions recounted.

But the Phantom overshadows the story, overshadows destiny, overshadows every happening. As you read, his every emotion becomes important in this moment, and the questions of what will happen become far secondary. Is the Phantom doomed to haunt until his true dying day? Will he find love - understanding - anything close to the 'normal life" he dreams of? Eventually - we'd give him any escape we could. Linforth's characters will wring incredible sympathy from any reader.

Description intrigues nearly as much as action. Linforth not only exhibits a passion for research, but she brings places to life. Just a glimpse at the inner workings of the Opera house bring it all to focus, without slowing the story: The cellars of the Garnier were tremendous as the opera itself. Totaling five, they supported the layout of the stage with a network of traps, hatches, winches, counterweights and revolving doors. Anna often found respite among the wheels and pulleys of the sub-stage level. She enjoyed wandering among the giant machinery…

There is a caution here, however, and the reason I give this work 4 books, not more: It is far from the typical romance. The ending is not entirely what we might wish. Fans of 'romance' might find this slow going. The overarching literary phrases - not lofty perhaps, but indeed, full of layers and shades of the half-suspected… make this a demanding read. It is however, a rewarding read. If you long for an evocative heart wrenching tale and are prepared to pour a little of yourself into it, Madrigal is for

~ Long and Short Romance Reviews

For most of his life, Erik has lived in imprisonment, not behind bars,but behind a mask. People have viewed him as a monster rather than a man because of his deformity, none ever pausing to listen to the artful and passionate soul within him. His life of seclusion and rejection has touched Erik with madness, though it battles the musical genius within him and his desire to live like any other man, to be loved and accepted for who he is. He once sought to realize those desires with the autiful opera diva, Christine, but her rejection brought him to surrender to a lonely existence beneath the Paris Opera. Years later, packages are left for him by Anna, a woman he doesn't know and whose kindness confuses him. He slowly opens himself up to her friendship, but when the shady new managers of Opera Garnier come up with a scheme that brings Christine back into his life, Erik must rise once again as The Phantom of the Opera to protect all he holds dear.

In the decades since Gaston Leroux's original novel, The Phantom of the Opera, was written, the character of Erik has captured hearts and minds as one of the most intriguing and mysterious figures ever created. Countless adaptations have been done spanning all forms of media, Andrew Lloyd Webber's famed stage musical being perhaps the most well known, as well as the 2004 film version of the musical, and for the many different adaptations in books, movies, and stage, Erik has been portrayed in ways ranging from a misunderstood genius to a murderous villain. In Jennifer Linforth's Madrigal, Erik is masterfully resurrected to be exactly the man that many fans of Phantom want him to be, sensual, gifted, passionate, powerful, having a soul of humanity, but a mind haunted by madness. He is a characterof layer upon layer, and the dignity with which author Linforth treats him shows that writing Madrigal was done as a labor of love for Leroux's work.

Madrigal takes place four years after the events of the original story, and while enough statements are dropped regarding the past that readers could understand what happened, knowing the history of the characters and events, whether it's having read Leroux's work, or having seen the play or film versions, helps to enhance the experience of this novel. Along with the return of familiar characters such as Christine, Raoul, and Madame Giry, several new ones are introduced, all who blend seamlessly with the old. Of the new, author Linforth makes a wonderful addition in Anna as an indomitable heroine, and in creating a despicable figure in the main antagonist. Though of all the characters, it is Erik who rightfully steals the show.

With this classic tale continued and given new life through author Linforth's lovely storytelling, Madrigal is a must read for Phantom fans. And if you're not a Phantom fan, give Madrigal a read and there's a good chance you'll become one.

~TCM Reviews